Thursday, April 29, 2010

Here I am, half-asleep--as if my eyes have been trying to close by themselves--, listening to 88.5 (a relaxing jazz station), just finished my glass of acai mango tea, and typing away as I reminisce to myself about the Tyler Hilton concert I was at this past Monday. :) ...While I also try to forget about how stressed out I was when I woke up at 5 this morning about my economics midterm I had at 8:30 (but don't worry, I think I did well on that test so it's all good!).

I was at the concert with one of my really good friends, and I hadn't seen her since last September so it was like a grand reunion for the two of us, and seeing Tyler Hilton was like the major bonus! :D I admit though, I hadn't listened to his music for awhile, but I have always relished the moments of hearing some of his older songs like "Rollin' Home" (that's probably my favorite one from the last album) on my ipod, as I would be literally rolling home (well not literally...I wasn't rolling but I was riding on the metro bus) from university after a long day.

So when I found out he was coming to Seattle, I was ecstatic. I actually saw him in concert three years ago the last time he was here (or maybe he's come a bunch of times in between and perhaps I didn't hear about it...if that's true, I'll feel infinitely times more guilty than I already do for not having listened to his new album!), and it was great! I was there with two of my friends and my sister, and it was in a club-type location on a rainy night in the city. Not only did we get to stand right in front of the stage as he performed gleefully (wow, now after using that word I just started thinking about GLEE the TV show XD Anyway, back to what I was saying...), but after the concert we got to take pictures with him! Plus we bought sky-blue t-shirts with his name written in bold navy font...And despite the inevitable fact that the t-shirt is now too tiny for me, it's still in my closet for the sake of memory. :)

This time, on Monday, when my friend and I went to see Mr. Hilton, it felt as if it were my first time ever of going to a concert--it was amazing!! Even though he only performed for half an hour, since there were other bands going on before and after him, it was definitely worth the wait! I clapped excitedly and cheered occasionally when the previous bands rocked and screamed out their lyrics...but from the point when Tyler Hilton came onstage to the end when he said "thank you for coming, have a good night!" I was literally screaming my friend's ears off, and clapping constantly like a mad man. And before that, when his band members were spending what seemed like hours setting up the equipment before Tyler came, I was getting so progressively anxious from waiting, to the point of grabbing my friend by the shoulders and shaking her, and practically squealing in demanding when he heck he was going to come onstage so I could scream over his music!

...Well, actually, it would have been impossible to scream over his music because the music was too loud. But in a good way of course--I was enjoying every minute of it!

My favorite part of the night was when Tyler taught us the first line of the chorus to one of his new songs, so that one of his band members could record the crowd of us joyfully singing those lyrics to be part of a music video he said he wanted to make. As he was telling us all this, I could feel my and everybody else's excitement overflow within the room, and when it was time to sing, we sang with the utmost devotion to making Tyler get as much enjoyment from our words as what we got out of hearing him sing himself. The song we sang to is called "I Believe in You"--It's officially one of my favorite songs now! not only because I got to be one of the people to sing with Tyler to this song, but also because of the way he sang it. As he was singing the song, you could almost feel what he was feeling when he wrote the lyrics; and I know that sounds as cheesiest as a sentence could be, but watching him sing into the microphone and smoothly strumming the acoustic guitar strings made me want to get to the heart of the story of it.

And thanks to Tyler Hilton, I can never get enough out of hearing that song every time it rings in my ears. ;)

That night will definitely be a night to remember.

Despite the blurriness of the pictures I took with my phone, and how tiny he looks in the pictures, I will always remember the concert as one of the most relaxed yet moving times of my life.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Wow! This is my first time writing a blog while on college campus :D Right now as we speak, I am sitting on one of the benches that are lovingly scattered about the endless pathways students take as they migrate from class to class. The sun is gently (though that feels like a contradictory word since I feel it's the opposite of gentle because I am boiling in the heat!! ...But just for the sake of optimism I am still assuringly using the word "gently" :) ) beaming down on me (more specifically, the left side of my face and neck, but oh well!) as I type buoyantly on my laptop keyboard. The wind lightly picks up every now and then, however all is still unmoving save for the sound of the birds chirping from corner to corner of the sky..in addition to the bright green leaves of the trees that sparkle from the golden sunlight.

...And although the bench I am sitting on is plopped right in front of a crowd of bushes that are at the moment hovered around by bees, as my arms and neck are unfortunately potentially to be exposed by bee stings if I don't notice bees coming around me as I type, I am sitting on the bench in nothing but relaxation.

This is probably because I just came back from a trip I took with my friends to a cafe I had never even heard of before, that sits along the streets nearby the university. It's called Ugly Mug, and even though the name of the place obviously may not sound the most welcoming, walking into the cafe will ultimately take you by surprise.

The first thing you would notice as you walk in is the large impact of the size of the cafe. The space is very small, and yet all the tables, chairs, cups, syrup bottles, and pieces of artwork (on the walls) are arranged in the most perfect way, so that even if the cafe is incredibly crowded (which it was when I was just there), you won't feel like the walls are closing in on you. Instead, you feel sheltered, like no other place in the world will give you this form of security and happiness all in one.

You would also notice the authenticity of the cafe, making you realize that everything has been put together with the most care and attention, as if you had just entered the domain of a dedicated houseowner. The paintings look like it took hours just to make sure they were aligned correctly, as the menus displayed behind the cashier are not mere sheets of paper or wood, but instead carefully illustrated chalk inscriptions, making you want to order just about anything they could make because you start believing that the food will contain just as much of the "homey"-ness and warmth as the presentation of the cafe itself.

And as I was sitting in one corner of the busy yet lively location, laughing and conversing actively with my friends, I couldn't help but make constant effort to take in everything that surrounded me. Under the glass sheets covering the petite tables that we leaned against, random notes have been laid out for all the customer to admire and contemplate, as if we have been exposed to a mini exhibit of artifacts that previous customers have produced during their visits at Ugly Mug. Some of the notes contained phrases that were most irrelevant for the atmosphere of a cafe in general, but I still enjoyed observing each and every one of them because I felt closer to the environment that I had been brought into. I was also surrounded by the most perfect shade of yellow that covered the walls (besides the paintings, which were paintings of dogs, so cute! :) ); they gave me warmth because they reminded me of my aunt's house in California that I visit almost every year, where it is all about yellow, olives, and avocados (since those are among the list of my aunt's favorite things ;)). Obviously, there were no olives or avocados stuck to the walls at Ugly Mug...But just recognizing the same feelings I would get out of gazing at the yellow walls and towels at my aunt's house made me feel at home.

I think that's what I loved most about Ugly Mug. It wasn't just the fact that I was with my friends (which of course was very important to me), the delicious-ness of the food and drink (I ordered, for my first time, a lavender chai latte; I always have gotten chai lattes in general, but never at that specific flavor...And it was amazing!), or the perfect mesh of art and conversation that seemed to form as the theme of the cafe. No, it was the undeniable familiarity that anyone who's enjoyed the comfort of the word "home" and everything that connects you to it, whether you are actually at home or not.

I hope you have had, or will have, the pleasant experience of planting yourself in a restaurant (or in any other place; it obviously doesn't always have to be a place that has food, though everyone knows food is one of the top things people can feel connected to because it reminds them of the most memorable feelings and moments of their lives...Hence, the movie Ratatouille) where you may not expect to, but do, make the same connection to "home" as I have.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Okay, I know I just said I was going to bed, but I just felt like posting a poem I recently wrote before I "hit the sack" (I used quotations there because I normally never use that phrase, I just felt like doing it for fun hehe).

Enjoy!

(No Title)

Nothing breezes

Like the wind, on

A Sunday Morning.

Like no holiday, it

Brushes away

All our problems that

Were sitting, comfortably

On our hilltops.

The flowers bloom with dignity,

All the trees sway

With peace, all the

Crashing waves move more

Smoothly, all because

Of the wind.

Do not object, for

This is how it

All should, and

Must, Be.

Nature allows it,

And you should too.

Good night (for real this time, my eyes are literally closing as I'm typing this, so I'll go to bed now. for real.)! :)

So this won't be a surprise to you or all of humanity, when I say that I've currently been suffering from overeating (it calms me by typing that word in bold font...I was being sarcastic just now :P).

I say it's not a surprise because it's a very common problem that many of us go through, either because of boredom, depression, or just a case of raw hunger.

Those of you who also overeat know, it's the aggravating monster that comes abruptly tugging on your sleeve impatiently while you're watching TV at 11:34 at night...When you're in the middle of a wonderful episode of Frasier, and instead of concentrating on why Martin is complaining about his new girlfriend, or wondering thoughtfully why Frasier has notoriously been getting himself into the hilarious problems for 11 years that practically made the show so enjoyable, you run into the bump sitting in the back of your mind, signifying that you "need" to get up, walk into the seemingly heavenly kitchen and come back out with a heavy bowl of cereal to digest in the night and early morning.

Well, I shouldn't say "you" in the situation I just described, because what I just described was practically the thing that I go through almost every night.

I never really pondered about why I've been like this; perhaps it's just been my way of finding relaxation while I watch TV, because maybe the TV itself isn't enough (which shouldn't make sense because the shows I watch are usually family drama shows like Parenthood or Life Unexpected...or sitcoms like The Middle)...Or maybe it's because I'm just plain hungry since it's been two or three hours since dinner. I definitely know for sure that it's not emotional eating or anything like that; I'm not depressed and usually when I watch TV late at night, it's because I like to watch TV and want to relax and that's it.

Anyway, the situation has been what some could call a "tough cookie" (ohmygosh, just typing those two words has gotten me hungry at this time at 8:51pm, just because of the solid word "cookie"...the most delicious dessert ever...*sigh of mild frustration*).

At least right now I'm having just a square of dark chocolate with a cup of previously-warm-but-now-cold (it's cold now because I've been typing on my laptop of course :) ) roobios tea. It's nice and somewhat soothing because, although it's not as filling as my favorite late-night snack (or should I say "meal")--cereal--, it is very healthy by the antioxidants and also by the low number of calories.

Well, I'm going to go to bed now, I have an ECON quiz tomorrow afternoon.

I also want to go to bed to avoid eating more, but it's going to be hard not to eat anyway--since I have to walk past the kitchen on my way to my room from where I'm sitting right now (in the living room, incase you were curious).

And also, I'm just plain tired since I haven't slept very much during the past week, because...Well, you probably know now. :)